Can you beat The Nightmare in Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden?

After the first hour of investigating the disturbance in New Eden, you’ll find yourself in a battle against The Nightmare, the first boss in Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden. The Nightmare has seemingly lured Antea to the Meeting House and you as Red need to try and defeat the boss to get Antea back.

However, The Nightmare is an extremely tough boss that deals a ton of damage, makes duplicates of herself, and only takes around 11 damage for every light attack you try. In all likelihood, your battle with The Nightmare ended with the boss stomping the ground, Red becoming stunned, and then being thrown out of a window. It seems no matter what you do, The Nightmare is going to win the fight one way or the other.

But is there another outcome to the boss fight?

Beating The Nightmare in Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden

Unfortunately, it doesn’t appear like there’s any way for you to defeat The Nightmare in your first encounter with it at the Meeting House in Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden. The Nightmare is supposed to win the first fight to set up the rest of the story, which is mainly centered around Antea’s death at the hands of the boss.

After Antea dies and you’re thrown from a window, the plot really begins to pick up and your choices as Red start to play a major role in the story. If you defeat The Nightmare when you first encounter it, then the entire rest of the game can’t happen. Of course, it’s possible there’s some alternate ending in Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden that only triggers if you beat The Nightmare, but there’s no evidence that’s possible at the time of writing.

Related: How to buy and sell items in Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden

So you’ll simply have to be okay with losing the first fight with The Nightmare and seek revenge against the boss in Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden.